Monday, January 30, 2017

With the election now over and the transfer of power, it
feels as if we the people have been snatched from the pan and thrown headfirst
into the fire. The months prior to the election were contentious enough,
sullied with vulgar, repugnant behavior that had absolutely nothing to do with
the issues. It severed friendships, caused rifts between family members,
perpetuated stereotypes, instilled fear and left our nation severely battered
and bruised.

Barely a week into the new regime and it feels as if the
silent war being waged against we the people has now escalated to a new high. Truth
and integrity are things of the past, no longer relevant when alternative facts
and bold-faced lies are shared like air. There are a few who still hope with
time that it will get better, some who simply don’t care, others demanding we
give chances they themselves adamantly refused to reciprocate. And many more
still reeling from the devastation and unwilling to sit idly by and not do
something. Anything.

I listened today as a man argued that the perceived
Muslim-ban effected this past Friday will help to secure our borders and make
us safe from terrorists who intend to do us harm. He insisted that the proposed
wall between the United States and Mexico will keep illegal immigrants from trespassing
where they do not belong. He actually said it would “stop parasites” from “sucking
up our natural resources”. His words. Not mine.

He wasn’t interested in the facts. Didn’t care that 85% of
the terror perpetuated on American soil thus far has been committed by American
citizens, most of them white and male. For him, that was different and not a
cause for concern. After all, in his small world, only people of color
worldwide are capable of inflicting pain against good, decent human beings. The
KKK and other white nationalist groups are no more dangerous than your local book
club, and the likes of Timothy McVeigh, Dylann Roof, James Eagan Holmes, and Jared
Loughner are just good ole’ boys afflicted with mental illness. He didn’t
attack their upbringing, castigate their parents, or proclaim them thugs as he
excused their behavior. He wasn’t as kind to Trevon Martin, Eric Garner or
twelve-year-old Tamir Rice as he vilified them for simply being black, and breathing.
He professed that the people, people like him, had spoken and the rest of us
needed to get over it. He was moderately educated but had never stepped foot outside
of his small town and admitted that he had never ever met, much less talked to,
someone not like him. Listening to this man rant nonsensically, I was reminded
of a cartoon I once saw, with the punchline that you can’t explain poetry to
someone who doesn’t understand English. I’m sure it was one of many one-sided conversations
that are being debated around the world, people digging in their heels as they
take sides. Many hearing, but not listening; understanding but not caring.

I’m glad he now feels safe. I’m excited that someone does. Because
I don’t. I don’t feel safe at all. I feel conflicted and tense and deeply
depressed, unable to hope for the best as I prepare for the worse. We have
watched politicians pander to fear as they try to normalize racist, homophobic,
misogynistic, xenophobic behavior. Leaders who stand idly by and say nothing at
all as healthcare is swept by the wayside, free speech is impugned, and women’s
rights, LGBTQ rights, our civil liberties and the doctrines of our Constitution are maligned with the sweep of a
pen and 140 Twitter characters.

Core values, on which our country was founded, are now trounced
on daily, the scrapings beneath an Alt-Right shoe with no concern for the
consequences. Seriously bad behavior is cheered in the name of God and good Christian-values.
But there is nothing Christ-like about any of it. The tenets of compassion and
tolerance are being ignored. Love doesn’t exist as neighbors stand at arm’s
length and eye each other with a wary stare. And let’s be honest, none of it is
what Jesus would do. The God I serve surely cannot approve.

Everything I once held near and dear, that I trusted and
depended on, feels lost to me. We the people are now a divided nation of haves
and have nots, those favored and those unwanted, the privileged and the
forsaken. Making America Great Again has
become a battle cry to divide, conquer, and piss on the spirits of our
ancestors who fought, bled, and gave their lives for all of us to have and do
better.

We the people suddenly don’t matter. We the people are expendable
for the greater good of a demagogue’s monarchy. We the people must now fight,
tooth and nail, to keep from drowning in the sewage suddenly flowing down from
the top. We the people are truly not safe as they come for the Mexicans, and
the Muslims, and whoever else might be next on the list because of their race
or religion or their refusal to tow the party line. We the people have every
right to be very afraid. We see daily that we are being attacked and persecuted
and hunted. Told to “shut up”, “get in line”, “or else”.

Wednesday, January 11, 2017

President Barack Obama said farewell to the nation tonight.
First Lady Michelle wore black. I felt like we were at a beloved family member’s memorial
service. From start to finish, saying goodbye, was gut-wrenching. Like many, I
wept like a baby.

I remember when he announced his candidacy, my beloved grandmother
shifting forward in her seat to get a better view of him as she watched CNN.
There was a hint of doubt in her eyes, that a black man could even imagine
himself being the leader of the free world. I remember her joy, as she shook with excitement, tears streaming down her face, when he was elected President.

From the very beginning he carried
himself with a quiet dignity that few others have been able to mimic. He personified
the best this world had to offer and for many, to see that embodied in a male
with brown skin, kinky hair, and a non-traditional name went against everything
they deemed American.

For the past eight years he has demonstrated immeasurable grace
under fire. He was challenged,
stalled and disrespected at every turn and even now, as he prepares to exit the
White House, too many are ready to dismantle the hard work he fought tooth and nail for, too quick to discredit the legacy he leaves behind.

We fell in love with him. We loved how he was so in love with his beautiful wife. How he adored his precious daughters. We were privileged that they were so open, welcoming us into their lives without hesitation. How they embraced us and allowed their family to be our family.

He leaves with
more hope for this country than we may deserve. He has faith in our success
that few others can fathom. Even as the masses are bemoaning what’s to come he
believes in the greater good. He believes in we the people. He still trusts the
ideology of democracy and the red, white and blue that waves in welcome to all.
He is the best of the best. He was a true American President. And he was ours.

Deborah Fletcher Mello

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BIOGRAPHY

Although she considers home to be wherever the moment moves her, Deborah Fletcher Mello was born and raised in Connecticut and maintains base camp in rural North Carolina. In addition to crafting fiction and poetry, her writing experience encompasses twenty-plus years of scripting technical resources and training documentation for numerous corporations throughout the United States and abroad. A true renaissance woman, Deborah's many career paths have included working as a retail buyer and size model for a national women's clothing chain, a finance manager for a well-known beverage organization, a sales manager for an infamous candy company, a telecommunications administrator and corporate trainer for a hotel-owning company, an art gallery director for a world-renowned artist, and an administrative consultant for multiple organizations throughout the United States. Although currently inactive, Deborah is also a licensed real estate broker and general building contractor. Deborah's first writing endeavors began in junior high school when she scribbled poetry into a science class lab book. An astute teacher encouraged those initial writings and in 1986, Deborah placed second in the Stamford Festival of the Arts Literary Competition for her nonfiction essay, The Eyes of My Children. In 1995, Deborah won the Good Housekeeping / Kindercare Essay Contest with her entry, What I Want For My Son. In 2000, Deborah's fictional novel, Rested Waters, was one of three finalists in the Sonja H. Stone Fiction Competition judged by author, Edwidge Danicat. Deborah's first novel, Take Me To Heart, published by BET Books' Arabesque imprint was released in December 2003 and was a 2004 Romance SlamJam Best New Author nominee. In 2008, Deborah won the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice award for Best Series Romance for her ninth novel, TAME A WILD STALLION. Her book CRAVING TEMPTATION was named one of Publisher's Weekly Best Books for 2014 and was also nominated for a 2015 Emma Award for Book of the Year. As well, her novel PLAYING FOR KEEPS was a Library Journal Best of 2015 and winner of the Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice award for Best Multicultural Romance. For Deborah, writing is as necessary as breathing. Weaving a story that leaves her audience feeling full and complete, as if they've just enjoyed an incredible meal, is an ultimate thrill for her.

Follow Me With

Our Deepest Fear by Marianne Williamson

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."